Daniel Wiffen: Paris Goals, Dispensing With Sports Psychologists & The Best Thing About Olympic Year
‘Daniel Wiffen makes Irish history’ has become a recurring line and one that may be written again in the coming weeks.
His is a long list of firsts.
No Irish swimmer had won a World Championship medal in the long-course pool before Wiffen claimed the 800/1500 double in Doha in February.
The first Irish swimmer to set a world record with 7:20.46 in the 800 free at last year’s European Short-Course Championships, taking almost 3secs off Grant Hackett’s July 2008 mark, then the longest-standing WR in the pool.
There he also became the first Irish swimmer to win a medal in the continental short-course pool when he won the 400-800-1500 treble.
The first Irish swimmer to set a European record with 800 standards in both the long and short-course pools.
The list goes on, going back to July 2022 when he became the first able-bodied swimmer from Northern Ireland to win a Commonwealth swimming medal with silver in the 1500.
Daniel Wiffen: Photo Courtesy: G.Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
It has garnered him medals, records and awards, the latest from the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) who named him Sportsman of the Year.
Now he stands on the brink of yet more history and this time on the biggest stage of all with the pool and open water beckoning in Paris.
Should he reach the podium in the French capital, Wiffen would become the first Irishman to win an Olympic swimming medal.
It would make him only the second Irish swimmer to do so, the other being Michelle Smith who won three medals at Atlanta 1996 but was later banned for tampering with a doping sample.
Paris will be Wiffen’s second Olympics, three years after he made his debut in Tokyo.
There he finished 14th and 20th in the 800 and1500 respectively as Bobby Finke claimed the distance double.
Since then, Wiffen has elevated himself onto the top table and stands fifth all-time in the 1500 with 14:34.07 en-route to gold in Doha and ninth in the shorter distance with his European record of 7:39.19 when coming fourth at the Fukuoka worlds in 2023.
With confidence borne of experience, Wiffen told Swimming World:
“I think I’m a lot less nervous than I was three years ago. I think because the Olympics was my first-ever senior international and my goal at the Olympics is to just perform on the big stage.
“Something like 30% of athletes’ personal bests – or maybe even less – are done at Olympic Games.
“If I do personal bests at the Olympic Games, I’m sure that puts me in with a great – I’d say 99% – chance of winning a medal. So, that’s just the goal.
“I don’t feel anywhere near as much pressure as I did three years ago. I’m just happy to be training so fast and doing so well.”
Doha Golds and Pre-Race Walkouts
Wiffen heads to Paris atop the rankings in both the 800 and 1500 free with his winning times in Doha of 7:40.94 and 14:34.07 respectively.
Six months earlier, he’d left the Fukuoka worlds following two fourth places.
While his time in the 800 was a European record, Wiffen was 8.1secs outside his then PB of 14:34.91 in the longer race, finishing in 14:43.01.
Ahead of him were Ahmed Hafnaoui and Finke – who fought out an exhilarating duel as the Tunisian clinched gold in the second-fastest time in history – while Australian Sam Short took bronze, 5.73secs ahead of Wiffen, after going out at a blistering pace.
While he never questioned that he was going to appear on the global podium, Doha offered another opportunity.
“No, I had no doubts (after Fukuoka),” he said. “I knew I was going to medal at some stage.
“In Fukuoka I had a lot of nerves, it was my first time being in the spotlight for a World Championships and the first time I was a contender for medals.
“I screwed up my race plans and stuff like that and I was more worried about whether I was able to follow my race plan under the pressure which I was then able to do and I’m pretty sure I did it pretty perfectly.”
Daniel Wiffen: Photo courtesy: G.Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
The manner of his victories in Doha differed: he won the 800 with a late charge while dominating the longer race.
He added:
“It definitely gave me confidence because I won a medal at a World Championships. That was one takeaway.
“I know Sam Short and Bobby Finke weren’t there but it showed me I can win those races.
“Europeans I came away with three golds but that was short course and Fukuoka I came fourth twice so it was can I get on the podium at an international before the Olympics?
“The 800 was a great test because I think the goal was not about the time it was about getting your hand on the wall first.
“In 1500 tried to go for a PB and got one.”
It also gave Wiffen a chance to practice his walkouts on to poolside with new ones to be unveiled at Le Defense Arena, fun but also a distraction from the race and the nerves.
“In Otopeni I shot the camera and I was on the phone for the 800 in Doha and for the 1500 I checked the watch because I was going for a time, I was going for a PB.
“Why do it? 100% it distracts me. I think that is one of the main things.
“People have their own interpretation. I use it as….. I don’t work with a sports psychologist or anything because I think they’re a waste of time personally.
“If I am thinking more about getting that right then the next step is a clear mind for the race, I don’t think about anything.”
The Wiffen-Manley Partnership
Wiffen trains – along with brother Nathan – under the watchful eye of Andi Manley at Loughborough Performance Centre.
Theirs is a relationship of trust and personal responsibility and it is to Manley that the Irishman turns.
Even more so since he dispensed with the services of a sports psychologist in the wake of Fukuoka.
Daniel Wiffen: Photo Courtesy: G.Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
Wiffen explained:
“I think after that I wanted to change everything and I changed everything apart from my coach obviously.
“So, then I started working with so many different people that I was like I think it’s a waste of time.
“I changed my sports psychologist: I was working with one but it just didn’t work for me.
“So, I went to a new one and then she told me I didn’t need a sports psychologist.
“I didn’t like sports psychology in the first place because the old one would make me go through the scenario of me losing a race.
“And I’m like, I’m not going to lose so I am not going to go through the scenarios.
“I don’t need to because I think if you think about it then it’s more likely going to happen.
“I mean it’s working right now; I haven’t seen any sports psychologist since before Fukuoka and I’ve been doing better than ever.”
Focusing On What He Can Control
The men’s distance races in Paris promise to blow smoke off the water.
While Hafnaoui will not be there, Finke, Short, Gregorio Paltrinieri, Florian Wellbrock and Mykhailo Romanchuk will all take to the blocks at La Defense Arena.
So too will Kuzey Tuncelli, the 16-year-old who crushed the 1500 WJR in 14:41.89 earlier this month and who at times shares the water with Wiffen at the Gloria training base in Türkiye.
Then on to the 10k in the River Seine where Wiffen will make his open water debut courtesy of qualifying in the 1500.
Despite the rising anticipation as the Games move ever closer, Wiffen is focused solely on what he can control.
“I don’t know how the others are going to swim at the Olympics, they could swim 20 seconds under world record, my best on that day might be 10 seconds under world record.
“This is why I’ve started to focus on me just going to do my best in the race and hopefully that’s good enough.
“I’ve definitely been working on different areas of my race where I know I need to improve so maybe we’ll see a whole different swimmer in the Olympics but nobody will know until the day.”
The Best Thing About Olympic Year
Daniel Wiffen: photo courtesy: G.Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
And the best thing about Olympic year?
“I treat it as any other year. I don’t like it when people go ‘oh yeah I try harder in Olympic year.’
“I try hard every year. I don’t know what other people are doing but I’m not putting more effort in in Olympic year than I would any other season.
“Olympic year is obviously special, the pinnacle of swimming and most sports and to be fair, my favourite part about the Olympics is the free stuff. That’ll be what I’ll be doing before I swim.
“I think I’ve got a week in the Village before I race so I have got a couple of days when I’m move in when I’ll be trying to find the free stuff.
“You get shoes, you get a toothbrush, you get a phone, you get earphones, Airbnb voucher – I don’t know what’s going to be special about Paris free stuff, we’ll see.
“Tokyo you got Asics trainers, I’ve never worn them, they’re still in the box but I have them.
“Oh, and you got a duvet as well: I took that.”
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